slideshow

A Kayak's Origin Story

Kayaks are known for their superior design as a small watercraft. The combination of the light hull, covered top, and shallow base makes a speedy, sturdy, and easy to turn boat that can be adapted for calm lakes, rapid filled rivers, and choppy seas.

Thank the Arctic natives for this brilliant design.

Many kayak users are unaware that kayaks were originally built using animal skins and were just one type of boat among other skin boats. This slideshow portrays some of the unique features of the original kayaks and also introduces the closely related umiaq.

Tags: Maritime history
a group of men in kayaks
Preview a group of inuit in a large skin boat
Preview a skin boat model with oars
Preview eskimos land a skin boat in the ice
Preview a wood frame dries walrus hide
Preview a boat frame and a frame covered in seal skin
Preview the covering of a skin boat is broken away revealing the frame
Preview a skin boat with a sail
Preview a seal skin kayak
Preview an Inuit hunts in a kayak
Preview a sketch of a kayak design
Preview a profile and top down view of a kayak
Preview a hunter throws a harpoon from the cockpit of his kayak
Preview a sculpture os a kayaker
Preview a man in a white hooded sweatshirt paddles in a skin boat kayak
a group of men in kayaks

Skin Boats

Credit: National Anthropological Archives

Kayaks have been used by the Inuit for thousands of years. Few sources of food in the harsh Arctic climate required traveling out to sea where  some of the largest sources of protein live. A sturdy and nimble boat was essential for a successful hunt, so the Inuit turned to animal skins to build their desired design. Supple, sturdy, and waterproof, sealskin and walrus skin is an excellent material for the creation of boats. The skins were stretched over the light frames made out of driftwood or animal bones and then oiled periodically with fat obtained from either seals, walruses, or whales, to maintain the waterproof capability.

a group of inuit in a large skin boat

The Larger Skin Boat

Credit: Canadian Museum of History

Kayaks were usually built for a solo hunter, but the Inuit also built larger boats called umiaqs (also spelled umiak) that could fit over ten people. Reliance on animals for survival required the Inuit to follow animals as they migrated, and umiaqs helped move personal belongings and provided transportation for those unable to travel distances on their own, like children.

a skin boat model with oars

The Umiaq

Credit: Smithsonian Institution NMNH

The umiaq is the larger of the two types of Inuit skin boats. It is an open faced boat propelled by oar, sail, or motor. Smaller umiaqs are around 15 feet, while the larger ones can be as long as 60 feet. They are primarily used for group travel and cargo carriage, though they have been known to be used in whale or walrus hunting.

eskimos land a skin boat in the ice

Siberian Yupik Eskimo Skin Boat

Credit: Anchorage Museum of Natural History and Art

Skin boats were vital for survival of Arctic sea mammal hunters who had to navigate and hunt amidst sea ice where bark boats would be crushed or punctured, and wooden boats were too heavy to be hauled up on top of ice floes when currents or wind caused the leads to close. In a pinch, a tear or puncture in a skin boat was easily repaired with a piece of your boot, needle, and thread! This is a skin boat from St. Lawrence Island Alaska that is featured in the book The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of Northern Eurasia. The people are Siberian Yupik Eskimo.

a wood frame dries walrus hide

Skin Coverings

Credit: The Library of Congress

Skin boats are the only marine boats to use seal and walrus skins to cover the boat exterior. The skins are soaked in animal oil to keep them waterproof. They are then sewn together with a special double seam that helps keep the water from seeping through the two hides. Blubber or animal fat rubbed along the seams completes the waterproofing process, though keeping the skins waterproof requires constant care. On average, a waterproofing treatment lasts from four to seven days, at which point the oils and fats must be reapplied. Additionally, each day the skins must be dried, and on multiday excursions requires the help of other umiaqs to lift the hull out of the water.

a boat frame and a frame covered in seal skin

The Umiaq's Design

Credit: Flickr user J. Stephen Conn

The umiaq’s exceptional design includes a light frame and elastic covering. The light frame allows for the carriage of significant loads while the elastic skin absorbs any shock from collisions with ice.

the covering of a skin boat is broken away revealing the frame

The Frame

Credit: Smithsonian Institution NMNH

This umiaq model from the Smithsonian shows the leather lacings that fasten the skins to the frame. When the skins are initially attached they are thoroughly soaked with water. As the skins dry, they shrink over the frame and create a taut covering.

a skin boat with a sail

Wind Propulsion

Credit: National Anthropological Archives

Unlike kayaks, umiaqs often relied on a sail. This photo shows how sails could be attached to a umiaq to help paddlers propel forward.

a seal skin kayak

The Kayak

Credit: Smithsonian Institution NMNH

The kayak is the smaller of the two skin boats. Unlike the umiaq, kayaks are covered boats with a small opening for the paddler to sit within. Most kayaks throughout the Arctic are built for one person, though there are two and three person designs found along the islands of the Bering Sea in western Alaska.

an Inuit hunts in a kayak

Hunting

Credit: National Anthropological Archives

Kayaks were designed for hunting and fishing.  Sleek and buoyant, they allow for paddlers to achieve quick speeds and maneuver with ease.

a sketch of a kayak design

The Kayak Frame

Credit: Smithsonian Institution

A kayak frame was built of driftwood, a readily available building material in much of the Arctic. Fir, pine, spruce, willow, are commonly used, and willow is especially sought after for the pieces that must be bent.

a profile and top down view of a kayak

Kayak Profile

Credit: Smithsonian Institution

Kayaks have a great variation in construction styles. In places where severe weather is common, kayaks must be durable and stable. Where ice shields winds from building waves, kayaks can be built narrow and low to the water’s surface to maximize speed. Here is an example of a kayak from Disko Bay in Greenland. 

a hunter throws a harpoon from the cockpit of his kayak

Harpoon Thrower

Credit: Smithsonian Institution

The best weapons to use in a kayak were darts and harpoons. Bows were easily damaged when wet and were best left for hunting on land. Many harpoons included a throwing stick that increased the range and force. At the end of the line was often an inflated bladder that kept the line afloat and tired the targeted animal.

a sculpture os a kayaker

Storage

Credit: Smithsonian Institution NMNH

This sculpture shows how weaponry and hunted animals were stored on the surface of the kayak. 

a man in a white hooded sweatshirt paddles in a skin boat kayak

Kayaks Today

Credit: Flickr user Ville Miettinen

Today, kayaks continue to be used as a means of transportation in the Arctic and an updated plastic version is now a widely recognized boat type across the globe. These plastic hulled boats come in a vast array of shapes suited for the sea, rivers, and lakes. Regardless of the building material, the kayak’s sleek and covered design continues to be superior among small boats.